Here’s What Publicis’ CEO Has to Say to Critics of His One-Year Ban on Award Shows | Adweek

June 23, 2017June 23, 2017 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

CANNES, France—Publicis Groupe’s Arthur Sadoun knows he’s pissed off a lot of people this week, and he’s keenly aware that his competitors are pouncing on it. But he’s holding firm to his controversial decision to ban award show entries across his network’s many agencies for one year.

In a candid interview with Adweek in Cannes, the newly elevated CEO responded to his critics while also sending a message of commitment to his 80,000 employees.

“It’s a tough decision to make, clearly,” he said. “But we believe if we’re really committed to creativity, which we are, it’s time to reinvent the tool that will celebrate and foster creativity tomorrow. This is what we’re doing.”

Art Fight! The Pinkest Pink Versus the Blackest Black | WIRED

June 22, 2017June 22, 2017 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

HOW MUCH MORE black could Vantablack be? The answer is none. None more black.

This stuff is the blackest black. It is so black that it makes reality look Photoshopped. Perception of depth and dimensionality disappears into a scotoma of darkness. You look at Vantablack, but nothing looks back at you.

That’s not why Vantablack caused an uproar last year. It was supposed to be a specialty product for aerospace and optics. But then engineers at the English company Surrey NanoSystems, the place that invented Vantablack, figured out a cheaper, spray-on version.

Suddenly it wasn’t just for techies anymore. Now, theoretically, it could be for anyone. Even artists. Before 2016, Vantablack was a technology. After that, it was a color. And people take colors very personally.

Uber’s Travis Kalanick Said To Resign As CEO Amid Investor Backlash | Forbes

June 21, 2017June 21, 2017 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Uber CEO and co-founder Travis Kalanick, who took a leave of absence from the company just last week after months of turmoil, has now reportedly resigned in the face of mounting investor anger.

The New York Times broke the news late Tuesday, reporting that five major investors in the ridehailing giant demanded Kalanick resign immediately as chief executive officer. The group included Benchmark, a venture capital firm that’s represented on Uber’s board by Bill Gurley, the Times said. Two people with knowledge of the matter, that the newspaper didn’t identify, confirmed the ultimatum given to Kalanick.

That demand was delivered to Kalanick in a letter titled “Moving Uber Forward,” a copy of which the Times obtained. Spokespeople for Uber didn’t immediately respond to a Forbes request to confirm his departure.

Revolutionary Solar Paint Creates Endless Energy When Mixed With Water Vapor | Inhabitat

June 20, 2017June 20, 2017 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Researchers at RMIT University in Melbourne have created a revolutionary new solar paint that can be used to produce endless amounts of clean energy. The innovative paint draws moisture from the air and splits it into oxygen and hydrogen. As a result, hydrogen can be captured as a clean fuel source.

The paint contains a recently-developed compound that looks and feels like silica gel — commonly used in sachets to absorb moisture and keep food, electronics, and medicine dry — but acts like a semiconductor. Additionally, the synthetic molybdenum-sulphide material catalysis the splitting of water atoms into hydrogen and oxygen.

For Western Union, Refugees and Immigrants Are the Ultimate Market | Bloomberg

June 19, 2017June 19, 2017 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Early in the summer of 2014, executives at Western Union offices around the globe began to notice something strange. The world’s largest money transfer company, Western Union Co. processes 31 transactions a second, and the money moves in distinct regional and seasonal patterns, like ocean currents or highway traffic. When disruptions occur or new patterns emerge, a knowledgeable observer can spot history unfolding in real time: The volume of transfers reflects the ebb and flow of nations’ economic growth and the vacillations of commodity markets. Natural disasters show up as sudden influxes of cash.

Brexit talks: U.K. and EU begin divorce negotiations | CNN Money

June 19, 2017June 19, 2017 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Brexit talks are officially underway.

Officials charged with negotiating the first departure of a country from the European Union were in Brussels on Monday to kick off the most consequential series of talks for the U.K. since the end of World War II.

Chief U.K. negotiator David Davis is meeting his EU counterpart, former French foreign minister Michel Barnier, to grapple with a complex set of questions about the future of trade and migration, how much the country must pay to settle its bill with the bloc, and the rights of millions of citizens who have settled in Britain or Europe.

Amazon is gobbling Whole Foods for a reported $13.7 billion | TechCrunch

June 16, 2017June 16, 2017 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Amazon has made a bid to buy Whole Foods in what would be a whopping $13.7 billion deal.

The all-cash acquisition (which includes Whole Foods Market’s net debt), will radically shake up any number of businesses and completely changes the online retail and bricks and mortar landscape.

“Millions of people love Whole Foods Market because they offer the best natural and organic foods, and they make it fun to eat healthy,” said Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and chief executive in a statement. “Whole Foods Market has been satisfying, delighting and nourishing customers for nearly four decades – they’re doing an amazing job and we want that to continue.

McDonald’s Ends Olympics Deal Three Years Early | BBC News

June 16, 2017June 16, 2017 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

McDonald’s and the International Olympics Committee (IOC) are ending their long-running sponsorship deal three years early.

The fast food chain said it was “reconsidering all aspects of its International Olympics Committee business” as part of a plan to re-invigorate its business.

The IOC said it understood “that McDonald’s is looking to focus on different business priorities”. The partnership began in 1976.

“For these reasons, we have mutually agreed with McDonald’s to part ways,” said the IOC.

Crash Override Malware Took Down Ukraine’s Power Grid Last December | WIRED

June 12, 2017June 12, 2017 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

AT MIDNIGHT, A week before last Christmas, hackers struck an electric transmission station north of the city of Kiev, blacking out a portion of the Ukrainian capital equivalent to a fifth of its total power capacity. The outage lasted about an hour—hardly a catastrophe. But now, cybersecurity researchers have found disturbing evidence that the blackout may have only been a dry run. The hackers appear to have been testing the most evolved specimen of grid-sabotaging malware ever observed in the wild.